New Year's Eve

Leh Ying didn't stay at the hotel.

She got a ride back to Huajiadi at five in the morning, the box of Ibuprofen sustained-release capsules always in her pocket.

She wasn't at the hotel waiting for him to remember her and call her room to check in.

She wanted to tell him, "Don't expect me to wait for your return."

Once her illness was over, the chances of meeting Xu Jingxi in the days to come became even more remote.

If she hadn't made such an effort, there wouldn't have been so many coincidental meetings with him.

She couldn't find a reason to ask the white-gloved driver, "Is Mr. Xu very busy?"

Fingers composing a text message, sending it to the white-gloved driver: "Please convey my thanks to Mr. Xu for his hospitality, I am feeling better."

The white-gloved driver didn't reply.

After that, Leh Ying spent her days busy with gallery affairs.

At the end of winter, on the twenty-ninth day, there was just one day left till Spring Festival.

The gallery's weekly exhibition happened to feature paintings by an alumnus from the same school who had settled abroad.

The artworks were signed over to Sister Zhang, who was in charge of the exhibition sales.

Before it even started, she heard an announcement from a colleague.

"We originally contacted the chairman of the Vanke Group for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, but he didn't show up due to urgent matters. Who was in charge of liaising with them at first?"

The lighting technician replied, "It was Ah Yao and Leh Ying."

"Where are they, why didn't they come?"

The important figure who was supposed to grace the event hadn't arrived.

Leh Ying clenched her phone and dialed the secretary office of the Vanke Group again.

"Hello, this is the 798 Gallery…"

"Sorry, please don't call again and tie up the line," the cold official voice replied, "The chairman is busy, his schedule can't accommodate it."

Leh Ying maintained her politeness, "I'm sorry, but your chairman had promised to sponsor us with a financial contribution."

The voice on the other end took on a mocking tone, "What are you talking about, that never happened."

Before Leh Ying could say anything more, the person hung up the call.

With the VIP no-show, the ceremony site turned cold and deserted.

Ah Yao, also part of this exhibition's curation, sat beside her, having not got through to the chairman of the Vanke Group either.

In the end, it was fruitless.

The two sat at the top of the stairs, waiting for the countdown to the opening.

Leh Ying managed a wry smile.

She suddenly remembered what Liu Huaiying had said.

——This is Forty-Nine City, where the most powerful reside. The top echelon is out of your reach, think about what you have to offer.

"All the art on the walls was put up by us working overtime night and day, it's heartbreaking to see," Ah Yao leaned into her lap, crying even more despondently, "It's our first time, and we have messed it up."

Indeed, it was she and Ah Yao who took charge of the anniversary exhibition. She couldn't remember why they didn't go home for New Year's. Why was that?

Others' hard work, their thirteen days of effort in setting up. In the end, it took only a single high-profile figure to change their mind, causing them to lose control of the event easily.

Ah Yao was incoherent.

"Everything was agreed upon favorably yesterday, and today they just decide not to show up. Do they think we can be easily deceived because we are young?"

"We've let down our senior's hard work."

"If only someone could stand in for us, someone a thousand, no, ten thousand times more influential than the old bald guy from Vanke Group, it wouldn't be this pathetic."

"They strut around so arrogantly, it's infuriating. Do they think they're so great because they're rich and powerful?"

After listening to Ah Yao's complaints, Leh Ying clenched her phone, "Who do we know that we could call? Let's wait for Sister Zhang to handle it."

Rich and powerful? She thought of Xu Jingxi, the Crown Prince of the Forty-Nine City, the highest-status person there.

Or maybe she could have asked him, "Sir, I've run into some trouble, trouble that I can't solve on my own."

Is that appropriate?

It's not appropriate.

Leh Ying didn't allow herself to wallow in regret, patting Ah Yao on the shoulder, "Alright, let's go check the art and lighting, and wait for Sister Zhang to make arrangements."

With that, she got up and headed to the main entrance.

Ah Yao followed behind, "Others sell a billion yuan worth of paintings in a year. Today, if we manage to sell even one, that'll be good enough."

The Vanke chairman didn't show up for the ribbon-cutting or the funding, and it seemed like all the other heavy hitters had also - as if by agreement - not come, claiming to be busy with the New Year.

Ultimately,

She and Ah Yao sat at the top of the stairs creating a PDF report.

"The price of the paintings never went up; only Sister Zhang's acquaintances bought a couple out of favor."

…

As evening fell,

a young woman came to view the paintings, probably the same age as her. Perhaps it was her first time visiting a gallery, standing alone in a corner, quietly observing the artwork.

By her attire and demeanor, she looked like a major client.

Leh Ying approached, patiently introducing the artist's name and style. The girl smiled gently at her and nodded in acknowledgment.

Suddenly, the girl asked a question.

"Have you been seeing a lot of him lately?"

Her voice was crisp and sweet, laced with an unclear sort of probing.

Leh Ying was stunned, her head lifting in a daze, and after two seconds, "Excuse me, who are you asking?"

Which "ta".

The other party simply gave her a quiet glance and cracked a smile.

"I wasn't asking you," said the girl with a smile, "the two paintings you mentioned just now, I'll take them." She finished, walking away on her extremely thin high heels with a swaying, charming gait, leaving a faint whiff of perfume behind in the air, the scent of Cilian's Ice Snow Rose.

The backless purple dress she wore could not be pinned down to a brand, but it was quite expensive. It made her figure appear as delicate and tantalizing as the models in the paintings.

She didn't know who this generous young lady was; she didn't come to see the paintings and didn't seem very interested in admiring them, just casually asked something. What exactly she inquired, Leh Ying pondered for a long time.

Ah Yao patted her on the shoulder: "Do you know that girl? Why didn't you invite her upstairs to take a better look? She is wearing high-end clothes; she might even buy more."

Leh Ying smiled wryly: "The first time meeting her."

Ah Yao watched the girl's retreating figure: "How can there be such a beautiful and enchanting beauty? At first, I thought Sister Zhang had invited some young star to boost the event. I didn't expect her to come to buy paintings."

In the end.

Leh Ying went to check the gallery's purchase records and saw the name left by the girl: He Mansha.

Back in the apartment, Leh Ying thought of Liu Huaiying.

She sent the video from the exhibition to Liu Huaiying: "Is this pretty sister one of your close female friends?"

After a while.

Liu Huaiying: "Do you need something, or could you find a different way to hit on me?"

It seemed Liu Huaiying didn't recognize her.

"Leh Ying, have you come to a decision, or is it too late for regrets now?"

The young master was probably somewhere getting drunk.

Leh Ying didn't reply.

Another message came.

Liu Huaiying: "So tell me, how did the hotel's private suite get closed and fined, and doesn't it have something to do with you?"

Leh Ying didn't reply.

It seemed Xu Jingxi had made a decisive move.

Before, Liu Huaiying had taken her to the hotel suite several times, where they had all kinds of fun.

Liu Huaiying always chattered away: "My dear father said if I dared to live a flashy and dissolute life under the shadow of the Imperial City Root, he'd chop off my hands."

Definitely drunk.

Leh Ying: "Just let him chop them."

-

All the way until New Year's Eve.

The art exhibition had to end imperfectly, incurring a loss.

The outcome of the exhibition of a renowned great artist was such, easily manipulated by those in power who could determine life and death with a squeeze.

Taking advantage of the festive period, Sister Zhang was still hosting a banquet for the supporting artists at the Tongying Hotel, and right below was Sanlitun.

Leh Ying stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the surging crowds celebrating the New Year below, then lowered her head and sent messages to Ms. Wang Yanhe and Principal Leh.

"Happy New Year's Eve."

Ms. Wang Yanhe: "The same to you, Yingying, be safe."

Leh Ying's lips curved into a slight smile: "I will."

Ms. Wang Yanhe: "Yingying, is work going smoothly for you?"

Leh Ying glanced back at the listless party and lied: "Very smooth, I'm eating with my colleagues."

Ms. Wang Yanhe and Principal Leh were having a family reunion dinner at home, along with their pet cat.

There was a fleeting impulse to go home, to immediately return and give Ms. Wang Yanhe a big kiss.

Ah Yao by her side forked a piece of karst cake to eat, standing with her to view the night scene: "There are flower lanterns on Qianmen Street, perfect for a stroll and taking pictures. Have you tried the 1796's zhajiangmian (bean paste noodles)?"

"On the first day of the new year, we could go to the Tongzhou Temple Fair, it's lively. On the second day, we could go to the Imperial College and guess riddles..."

Ah Yao told Leh Ying.

She looked up and nodded in agreement.

After Sister Zhang handed them red envelopes, "I'm going home first."

Her Hermès bag hung elegantly on her arm, "Young girl, what fun is there in Forty-Nine City during New Year's? It's all the same. Lanterns hang in the alleys just for show, and whether there are fireworks depends on those above deciding to allow them or not."

Leh Ying patted her cheeks, young girl?

The last time someone called her that was Xu Jingxi. Was she really that young?

Where was she young?

She packed up her phone and left the restaurant, entering the elevator, where recently, everywhere seemed to play that cheery New Year song, audible even here.

She bought a sugar painting at the alley intersection and munched on it.

With nowhere else to go, Ah Yao said she'd go to the neighboring province to watch fireworks. Leh Ying didn't want to, so the two sat at the bus stop counting buses.

"Watch a movie?" Ah Yao leaned on Leh Ying's shoulder, "The New Year's films have been released."

She wasn't interested: "Others are couples, are you suggesting I go with you to be a third wheel?"

Ah Yao sipped her milk tea: "So why don't you have a boyfriend, there are plenty of handsome guys over 180 centimeters tall at school, why don't you date?"

Watching the passing traffic, she tossed the topic back to Ah Yao: "Those into art might be a bit sleazy and have complicated lives."

Ah Yao boasted confidently, "My beautiful sister, I told you not to fall for men, but I didn't say to keep them out of your life."

Leh Ying just smiled and moved on.

Ah Yao got up from her shoulder, "Have you ever been in love?"